The Drink Tank

386
The Silents
MOVIES - PART ONE
My love of silent film starts with the
comedies, of course. No, wait... it starts
with Lumiere and Melies and Edison
and Edwin Potter and Blackton and on
and on and on. These were the films I
came across when I was in High School
and fell in love with. Then it was the
comedies. First Chaplin and Keaton,
then I discovered the good stuff - Lloyd,
Arbuckle, the Keystone Kops, John
Bunny, and on and on. It was these films
that helped turn my interest towards
film history. In fact, Id say theyre what
led me to try and tell stories.
The three issues of the Drink Tank will
Look at The Silents, then Hollywood -
Finding its Voice, and finally In My Life-
time - Film 1974 to Present. These will
be a set of issues that will look at a lot of
different things in a lot of different ways.
Trust me, stick with us and youll get
why were doing it.
The +2 is because Vanessa and I will be
doing an issue of Klaus dedicated to Dan-
ish film, and therell be a Claims Depart-
ment that will look at what films have
moved me in significant ways. That ones
very personal ...
Movies Part One - The Silents
i
You should have figured this was coming. The Drink Tank is
going away, and I have so much I wanna say about movies that
might not fit into Klaus at Gunpoint. Thus, this three part (+2
parts) series of issues, start with The Silents.
Table of Contents
Chapter One - FADE IN: 1895 -
1910
Page 3 - Introduction
Page 4 - There Have Always Been
Cat Videos by Chris Garcia
Page 5 - The Great Train Robbery
(1903) A Silent Film Review by
Fritzi Kramer
Page 8 - An American Melies - J.
Stuart Blackton by Chris Garcia
Page 10 - On Silent Films by Ra-
chael Grace
Page 11 - Chris Garcias Favorite
Pre-1910 Films
Chapter Two - CUT TO: 1910 -
1920
Page 13 - 1910 - The Year Movies
Were Made by Chris Garcia
Page 17 - Les Vampires by Andrew
Duvall
Page 20 - Unredeemable Racism:
A Review of D.W. Griffiths Birth of
a Nation by Mac McCann
Chapter Three - FADE OUT: 1920
to Present
Page 23 - Jason watches NAPOLEON
with live orchestra and Polyvision by Ja-
son Wiener
Page 25 - The General and I by Rich
Coad
Page 27 - Silent Masterpieces - The Pen-
alty and The Passion of Joan of Ark by
Chuck Serface
Page 31 - Neither a Chaplin nor a Keaton
be by Chris Garcia
Page 32 - First Impressions - King Vi-
dors The Big Parade (1928)
Page 35 - L for Laughs -or- Amazing Act-
ing by Chris Garcia
Page 36 - The Life and Death of 9413: A
Hollywood Extra
Page 39 - Whats Your Favorite Silent
FIlm? Silent Movie by Mel Brooks: An
Appreciation by Will Frank
Page 40 - Silents All These Years by
Chris Garcia
Page 41 - Biographies
ii
THE DRINK TANK 384 -
SEPTEMBER 2014
Edited by Vanessa Applegate
James Bacon
Christopher J Garcia
Cover by Mo Starkey
journeyplanet@gMail.com
The names that will figure most prominently in this chap-
ter are the founders of film itself. Thomas Edison, the Wizard
of Menlo Park, who invented one of the earliest systems for
showing movies, and whose ruthless defense of his patents in
New Jersey led the movie industry ever-westward. The Lu-
miere Brothers, who brought the projected image to screens
in France. Georges Melies, the man who began our fascina-
tion with cinematic trickery. Edwin Potter, the founding fa-
ther of film editing. J. Stuart Blackton, the master of the
Trick Film. And more.
This section takes place before the wide adoption of the Fea-
ture Film format, even though The Story of the Kelly Gang
was released in 1909. The shorts here were state of the art,
for the most part, and represent experimentation. The docu-
mentary form was the first to be defined, followed by narra-
tive, and finally, avant garde. The evolution of film in this pe-
riod is as fast as youll ever find, and the public responded so
quickly. The only thing comparable that I can think of is the
explosion of the internet between between 1995 and 2010. In
fact, that might put film to shame...

FADE IN:
3
CHAPTER 1 - 1894 TO 1909
Perhaps faster than any other media, Film progressed incredibly in its first fifteen
years. From simple static shots of workers leaving factories and trains pulling into
stations lasting no more than a minute, to complex trick films and early features. Film
exploded and changed entertainment, as well as education, the arts, and sciences. The
figures of those first years would stand tall over the history of the field.
There Have Always Been Cat Videos
FADE I N: 1894 - 1909
When I think of the
internet, I think of cat
videos.
Now, I know you think thats what
PROVES that the internet is a terrible, pointless
thing. Its possibly true, but the obsession with Cat footage is
hardly new.
As any film student who has sat through the first day
of Introduction to Film History will tell you, Edison was a rat
bastard who made hundreds of Actualities, little, minute-
long movies in the documentary-style... sort of. The entire
film industry was founded on giving people the view of the
world, and usually the view of Urban life. Someone would put
a camera on the front of a subway train, or would shoot peo-
ple just walking through the streets of a major city. The works
of Edwin Potter and Georges Melies to establish film as a
story-telling medium helped to kill the Actualities... at least
until we had the Internet. What once were Actualities are
now Viral Videos.
The thing is, people were longing to look at ANY-
THING back then. it was so easy to be a film producer. Step
One - Get a camera. Step two - point it at something. Step
three - profit. That easy. The marvel of Cinema was new and
to a degree, over-powering. These films are less documenta-
ries and more events. Theyre almost ethnographic films, re-
cording the moments of the world as they happen. Even if
those events are forced into the
camera lens.
Edison had a solid idea. Hed have his
assistants bring in stuff they thought peo-
ple might want to see from Vaudeville, the
major circuses, even boxing and wrestling
matches. So youd see films of Strongmen like Sandow, or
Caicedo: King of the Slack Wire.
Professor Welton had a Cat Circus. They rode bikes, they
pranced and did other tricks, but by far, his Cat Boxing dis-
play was the most popular. Thus, it made sense that the Wiz-
ard of Menlo Park would want to capture the marvel! These
movies, shown in parlors to one person at a time in a device
called a Kinetoscope. It allowed for less than 1 minute of film
to run by, which was enough because people would have been
blown away. It was not shown with the first set of films
(which included Sandow and a Cockfight film), but ti was
hugely popular.
The video has been on the Internet as long as I can remem-
ber. Im pretty sure the first three sites were CERNs
homepage, someone posting the Exploding Whale video, and
Boxing Cats. You can see one of many versions on YouTube
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k52pLvVmmkU
And once you watch it, youll be aware of something Ive
always known - Cats are no good at the Sweet Science
4
The Boxing Cats
(1894)
The Boxing Cats
(1894)
The Great Train Robbery (1903) A Silent
Film Review By Fritzi Kramer
FADE I N - 1894 TO 1909
One of the earliest blockbusters, this film is a leg-
end in the history of cinema. But how does it hold up
(no pun intended) for the modern viewer? The story
involves the execution of a daring train robbery and
the subsequent posse pursuit. Exciting stuff or a
creaky relic?
Availability
Available on DVD.
Another day, another acclaimed classic.
Its often cited as the film that made the spawned
the movie culture. Its also called the first block-
buster, the first movie, the first narrative film
In spite of its popularity, or perhaps because of it,
The Great Train Robbery has a lot of misconcep-
tions associated with it.
Since the film is rather short and the plot is not ter-
ribly involved, I thought this would be a good place
for a question and answer session.
I plan to debunk a few myths that have attached
themselves to the film, as well as give a bit of back-
ground on the making of the movie itself.
Ready? Lets go!
5
BANG! BANG!
I heard this is the first silent movie or the first movie with a plot.
Is this true?
This isnt the first silent film. Or the first silent narrative film. As TCM put it, The
Great Train Robbery became the first influential narrative film in which the edit-
ing was imaginative and contributed to the narrative.
Not quite as snappy as The First Silent Movie but we take what we can get.
What is the movie about?
This is an action western. It wastes no time on frivolity and quickly gets down to
business. A gang of robbers overpower a railway station clerk, sneak aboard a pas-
senger train and then proceed to strip it of valuables. They blow up the safe (with a
pink and orange hand-colored explosion) and then rob every last passenger. The
gang gets clean away but a posse soon pursues them to mete out Western justice.
Or is it New Jersey justice? The Great Train Robbery was an east coast creation
(like most American films at the time) and was shot in Milltown, New Jersey.
Is the movie based on real events or a fictional work?
It was mildly based on an 1896 melodrama of the same title by Scott Marble,
though the story was streamlined considerably for the movies. (It has also been
suggested that the film was inspired by a 1900 train robbery commited by Butch
Cassidy yes, that Butch Cassidy which is possible considering the amount of at-
tention Butch and his gang received from the press.)
Are there any recognizable stars in the film?
As was the custom at the time, no actors were given onscreen credit. G.M. Ander-
son played several extra roles in the film, most significantly as the train passenger
who tries to flee and gets plugged for his troubles. A few years later, he would
adopt the persona of Broncho Billy and prevent these sort of villainous happen-
ings.
The leader of the bandits (and the fellow who famously shoots directly into the
camera) was Justus D. Barnes. What an ideal name for a western actor! He acted
prolifically until 1917.
Will a modern audience like this movie?
At this point in time, we are used to rooting for thieves, bandits and neer-do-wells
of all stripes. The Great Train Robbery does not invite the audience to sympathize
with its villains. The movie was meant to shock and horrify by showing realistic
western violence.
We tend to forget that in 1903, the western setting was not a time period but a
place. This wasnt history. It was torn from the headlines.
In general, though, modern viewers should have no trouble with the story. Its nar-
rative is clear (note the lack of intertitles!) and director Edwin S. Porter keeps
things fast-paced. Further, the outdoor shots and decidedly un-glamorous cast
6
FROM ARCHIVE.ORG
The Great Train Robbery is a
1903 American Western lm by
Edwin S. Porter. Twelve minutes
long, it is considered a
milestone in lm making,
expanding on Porter's previous
work Life of an American
Fireman. The lm used a
number of innovative
techniques including cross
cutting, double exposure
composite editing, camera
movement and on location
shooting. Cross-cuts were a
new, sophisticated editing
technique. Some prints were
also hand colored in certain
scenes. None of the techniques
were original to The Great Train
Robbery, and it is now
considered that it was heavily
inuenced by Frank
Mottershaw's earlier British lm
A Daring Daylight Burglary. The
lm uses simple editing
techniques (each scene is a
single shot) and the story is
mostly linear (with only a few
"meanwhile" moments), but it
represents a signicant step in
movie making, being one of the
rst "narrative" movies of
signicant length. It was quite
successful in theaters and was
imitated many times.
gives the movie a documentary feel. There are some studio scenes (with matte
shots adding visual interest) but much of the movie takes place in the great out-
doors.
That being said, viewers who are used to more rapid editing and closeups may find
this older style of filmmaking difficult to get used to. I recommend starting an abso-
lute newcomer out on something from Melies.
What about those scenes with color?
The color was added by hand to individual frames. It was not a precise art but the
shimmering tints are quite charming and add considerably to the film.
Where can I see it?
The Great Train Robbery is widely available on DVD and via streaming. High qual-
ity versions are also available in numerous box sets. My copy is from The Movies
Begin box set.
First appeared at MoviesSilently.com
7
FROM TIM DIRKS OF TCM
The remarkable lm was
greeted with the same kind of
fanfare that Sam Peckinpah's
violent The Wild Bunch (1969)
received many years later.
An American Melies - J. Stuart Blackton
FADE I N - 1894 TO 1909
It seems as if the belief is Melies invented everything. The
Trick Film? That was Melies. The special effect? That was Me-
lies. Narrative film? Total Melies. The fact is, there were oth-
ers, and some of them were actually better than the French
Magician. In fact, the greatest of them had to be an American
who came to be associated with the Trick Film. His name was
James Stuart Blackton, and he created a new American Cin-
ema.
Blackton was an important cartoonist in the late 1890s. He
was working for the New York Evening Post, and he was sent
along to see Edisons latest invention. He had drawn a lot of
wonderful cartoons, and the story goes that Blackton was in-
vited to draw the legendary Wizard of Menlo Park at a sitting,
during which Edison decided that he was going to allow Black-
ton to make movies for him. This, sadly, is not the case. In-
stead, the truth is Blackton was working as a sketch artist
alongside a magician, and at a major performance that was
being filmed by the Edison company, he absolutely killed it
with his audience, was the star of the night, and caught the
attention of the good Edisonian people. It was 1896, the Lu-
mieres in France were just doin their thing, Melies was devel-
oping his camera, and a number of others were working, but
non had the reach, or the number of outlets, that Edison did.
Blackton made three Edison shorts. They were all of him
drawing in his entertaining style. More importantly, he
founded a company, American Vitagraph Company, and they
began to produce films, at one point being Americas largest
producers of films. At first, like everyone else, they were do-
ing Actualities, but later, it was all about films using tricks.
The one that sold much of the public was called The En-
chanted Drawing.
Its on YouTube, and its a lot of fun. Its an artist, played by
Blackton himself, who draws a guy, and some pieces for him,
and then starts to pull them out of the picture and play with
them. Its adorable, and the funny thing is, its EXACTLY
what Melies was doing six or seven years before. Its only a
couple of minutes long, but its fun. Like Melies, Blackton
took his training and applied it to his films. In this case, its
8
his drawing. Hes a natural performer, Blackton. He works
with his drawing as a character, which is adorable. If you com-
pare this with a rather similar Melies piece, lets say The Van-
ishing Lady, youll see that Blackton has managed slightly
more in the area of story than The Magician did. The Vanish-
ing Lady is a simple series of tricks performed by a magician.
There is interaction, but its nothing like a stage show. Melies
performer charisma is there, but hes playing to the audience
in a way as if hes on a stage. Blackton is playing to the audi-
ence as if they are viewing him on a screen. Blackton has to
give life to the drawing, which isnt really animated much,
but at least a little. Blackton had done a little animation as
early as 1900, which makes him one of the earliest practitio-
ners of the art. Here, hes mixed some animation with camera
trickery, where he would have a drawn image and then seem
to pull it off the page and hold it in the physical world. With
Melies, he had an actress to play the lady and that seems eas-
ier, but it also forced us to accept that its a scene that lives in
our reality. In Blacktons vision, its an alternate world where
pictures are alive. This concept of live-action mingling with
the drawn world has been repeated in film ever since, notably
in things like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Duck Amok, and
Cool World.
This was hardly Blacktons only impressive work. Vita-
graph was hugely important for decades, and Blackton was
one of the most visionary filmmakers they had. The piece that
many consider to be his masterwork is Princess Nicotine, or
The Smoke Fairy. It was made in 1909 and was a landmark
in many different directions. This is a Trick Film, where
Blackton used every camera trick known, and invented a cou-
ple of new ones. The story is a smoker wants to light up a ci-
gar, but a fairy princess interrupts him and makes it difficult,
so he douses her with seltzer and traps her under a glass
dome. All in good fun, no?
Heres why this delightful little short is so important. Black-
ton had limitied tricks at his disposal, but he used them so
well. Forced perspective allows it to seem like hes trapped
the Fairy under the dome. He used stop-motion, a rarity in
those days, to make it appear a cigar had de- and then re-
assembled itself. He uses split screen effects, masking, jumps,
some beautiful over-cranking, over-sized props, and most im-
portantly, POV focus. We see him look through a magnifying
glass and we can see what he sees. This may seem a bit pedes-
trian, and some other filmmakers had done it, but none with
the obvious acceptance and grace of Blackton.
Blackton also invented Product Placement, as the Sweet
Corporal Cigarette & Cigar company paid to have their name
included, which is made all the funnier by the fact that this
plays like an anti-smoking ad! It shows the Fairies trying to
stop our friend from smoking, and Sweet bought into it! That
forever changed the way movies were made and financed,
and there really wouldnt be another innovation like it until
Crowd-funding.
Blacktons well-remembered among film history types. And
he should be. Hes a major figure, and Princess Nicotine is on
the National Film Registry. His story, while maybe not as
sexy as Melies, is so important, and his innovations were just
as significant. If you look at who had more impact on the way
film evolved, Blacktons Vitagraph takes the cake, though Me-
lies probably had more impact on genre film storytelling.
You can find come great Blackton films at
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4D234F5CDFFC8
559
9
On Silent Film By Rachael Grace
FADE I N: 1894 - 1909
Whether it be a rocket ship hitting the eye of the moon, a
busy train scene, a slapstick comedy, or an epic melodrama
silent films are perhaps the most fascinating era of film for
both the cinephile and casual movie lover. Silent films depict
humanitys first forays in the exploration of witnessing our-
selves with the moving picture. They sparked an addiction
which evolved into art, entertainment, a ceaseless archival
experiment, and an endless possibility of imagination and
creation.
What started with a simple scene at a train station with hu-
mans entering and exiting a train became a revolution for
how we interact with ourselves. Arrival of a Train remains a
classic iconic film as it evokes more than an intellectual appre-
ciation for it being the first film ever made. Rather, the par-
ticipants, nave of their roles, were living the roles of their
lives freely and without pretense thus, allowing fascinating
documentation of everyday behavior. This first film, silent in
its recording, created the cacophony of music that the moving
picture is today.
In the 21st century, the moving picture has evolved into
mundane surveillance, reality TV, works of art, and journal-
ism. In the age of digital selfies and the constant recording
of the mundane, the parallels of what the film medium repre-
sents at its heart, from that first film to today, is, perhaps,
never clearer.
Yet, within that first film, also lies the magic of film. From
watching a simple scene, the human mind is drawn to won-
der where the people are coming from, where they are going,
who they are with, and why. We crave stories and to fulfill
our curiosity.
Arrival of a Train sparked imaginations around the globe.
Only six years later, George Melies unveiled Le Voyage dans
La Lune, 1902, where he explored space travel, an animated
persona in the man on the moon, and a rocket landing in the
moons eye. Melies dedicated years of his life to capturing the
fantastic on film, inspiring generations of filmmakers. Narra-
tive storylines quickly established their dominance with epic
melodramas, Charlie Chaplin, and dystopian masterpieces
such as Metropolis by Fritz Lang in 1927.
In their novelty, silent films offer something most TV and
film cannot today. Every film, whether silly or profound, was
an experiment of how to explore and capture our world and
what it means to be human.
From that purity, moments were captured that invoke the
imagination and take the breath away in the present day.
- Rachael Grace. August 28th, 2014. NYC.
10
Chris Garcias Favorite Pre-1910 Films
FADE I N: 1894 - 1909
Ive watched a lot of early films. I love them. I think that when your form is new, and were all
naive, we produce works that are more honest, still full of the Gosh WOW! Thats something
that you find in nearly every field,
The films made before 1910 are typically simple, but many feature rich sets and costumes.
There are a lot of great early shorts on http://www.archive.org and, of course, on YouTube.
Vimeo has some as well, as does the Library of Congress (LoC.gov), but the best thing to do to
get a view on American pre-1910 film, pick up one of the Treasures of American Film Archives
DVD sets!
Wild Bills Wild West Show (1894)
A record of Will Bills famous show. Only lasts a minute, but is one of the few records of
acts that changed American stagecraft. Annie Oakley is the highlight!
The Execution of Mary Queen of Scotts (1895)
The Edisonians made this cheap trick film, which runs all of 18 seconds, but really
convinced some viewers that they had chopped her head off!
Little Tich and His Funny Feet (1900)
This French film is the only surviving footage of Little Tichs Big Boot act. Hes
really good, and this one minute short is a wonderful record not only of his act, but of
Vaudeville-like theatre.
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Perhaps the most important science fiction film ever made.
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
Really led to the concept of editing, and it manages to tell an actual, interesting
story!
The Impossible Voyage (1904)
Lesser-known that Melies 1902 film, This one is both beautiful and full of visual inven-
tiveness.
Interior New York Subway (1905)
A POV short of a train on the then Brand New Long Island Railroad. Fun!
The Black Hand (1906)
The first Gangster movie. Its a bit confusing to a modern audience, but it really captures
what Gangsters were like before the 1920s when they became Pop Stars
Trip Down Market St., San Francisco (1906)
A trolley trip down Market St. showing what that part of town looked like pre-Earthquake!
11
So many of the things that we consider
to be a part of film came about in the pe-
riod between 1910 and 1920. The feature
film was one of them. The documentary
became a thing separate from narrative.
The studio system. Movie stars. They all
came about in that decade.
And with all of it, films became more
and more a part of the world. Purpose-
built movie theatres started popping up.
some of which are still with us. Less than
20 percent of the population had seen a
movie in 1900. More than 50 percent
had by 1910!
CUT TO:
12
CHAPTER 2 - 1910 TO 1920
Once youve invented something, but before it is mature, there
is a period of discovery and re-discovery. In Rock n Roll, this was
the era of Punk. In wrestling, the Work-Shoot period in the early
1990s. In film, it was the second decade of the 20th century.
13
C U T T O : 1 9 1 0 - 1 9 2 0
1910 - THE
YEAR MOVIES
WERE MADE
Yes, there
were lms
before 1909,
but it was 1910
when we got
movies.
by
Chris Garcia
If there was a banner year in the creation of the mov-
ies, The list of rsts for 1910 is impressive. The rst narra-
tive feature lm had shown in Australia in 1909, The
Story of Ned Kelly, but in the US, it was The Life of
Moses that takes the distinction of being the rst Ameri-
can Feature Film. It was a ve-reeler that played in New
Orleans in December of 1909, and touring around after
that. It was 5 full reels, directed by the great J. Stuart
Blackton. Originally, it was ve short lms, but they were
put together to tell one story, thus, a feature in the style
of Four Rooms. The lm was something of a success,
though exhibitors complained because they were being
told that they could only show one movie in a particular
order. This was a rst, and kinda a bummer. WHen it
toured as a feature, it really represented the start of
American Feature Films... sort of.
There had been non-narrative Features shown as early
as 1897. The Fitzsimmons-Corbett ght was arguably the
rst. It ran almost two hours, was a helluva ght, and frag-
ments still survive today. There were other boxing
matches, and I believe several baseball games, that were
released in theatres. When the biggest wrestling match in
history took place, the legendary Gotch-Hackenschmidt
ght, they made more money off the rights to the lming than on the ght itself.
Go gure.
Still, shorts were still rule, though experiments with releasing features were
being made, mostly in Europe. In the US, lmmakers were experimenting with
two reelers and other techniques for making ever-grander lms. In addition, they
were experimenting with new ways of making movies.
Carl Laemmle had founded Independent Motion Picture Company in 1909 in
New York and New Jersey. It quickly became a major player because Laemmle
understood the power of the star. He invented the death hoax, perhaps. He put
out that The Biograph Girl (who had become his biggest star), Florence Law-
rence, had died, but then Laemmle said that she was alive and well and would
be appearing at the premiere of her new movie in St. Louis! It was, without
doubt, the biggest scam a producer had ever pulled on the public up to that
point. It was brilliant, and it made him a lot of money.
The idea of the Big Star was born in 1910. There were famous actors at that
point, but they were seldom sold as the big draw. Up until that point, the draw
was the movie itself. That concept was shredded in 1910 with Lawrence, Mary
Pickford, Tom Mix, a popular stage actor who debuted to great fanfare in 1910,
and especially John Bunny.
Bunny was the rst comedy superstar, and his lms did huge business. His Bun-
nynches, one- and two-reelers done with Flora Finch, were incredibly popu-
lar. His reign was short, he passed away in 1914, but when he did die, it
was said that John Bunny, the Most Famous Man in the World, Has
Died.
This changed how movies were promoted, and how lmstars
were paid. This is the start of the Star System instead of the
company concept, where it was the production and not the
individuals, that mattered. Stills and headshots were distrib-
uted, and we started to see the rise of lm fan magazines.
All of these really began in 1910. It became the standard,
and changed the way everything was done. Laemmle
started the idea of the Personal Appearance by the lm
stars. He was big on that concept, and he was also shame-
less. A potent combination!
Basic forms of how lms were made had been established,
but there were innovations that improved the process. Animation had
been a part of lmmaking since at least the late-1890s, and it was al-
most always pen-on-paper. John Randolph Bray patented the Cel process,
which completely changed the way that animation was done, making it possible
to create animations with multiple focal points.
14
The lms of 1910
were a step above
everything that had
come before, and
more importantly,
they introduced
many of the major
players for the next
two decades
There had always been make-up used on actors in lm,
but it you look at the way it was done, more often than not
it was the same as theatrical make-up. This changed in 1910
when Max Factor created the rst make-up specically for
the screen. This understanding of lighting, and what cam-
eras do to colors. His contribution to cinema history is
huge, and hes never been forgotten, luckily. The general
techniques he pioneered are still taught, though with
largely digital shooting, many have had to be re-thought.
Whats odd is that 1910 also seems to be a year of inclu-
sion. The Film Business had been a largely white, male, and
often Jewish, business. That slowly started to change (and
has gone back and forth over the decades, it seems We
saw the establishment of the rst studio completely man-
aged by a woman - Solas Company Studios. They were
HUGE, producing hundreds of shorts. They stayed in New
Jersey instead of moving out West, and they were very
much passed by, but they were such an important part of
Film History. They supposedly produced the rst lm with
an all-black cast, though that may not be accurate because
there were black lmmakers prior to that point, but theyre
lms did not penetrate as far into the mainstream.
1910 was also the year that William Foster founded Fos-
ter Fotoplay Company, almost certainly the rst African-
American-owned movie studio. They made what Foster
called race pictures many of which were slapstick come-
dies featuring all-black casts. They made a lot of money,
but modern Film Historians arent well-versed and Im not
sure how many of the classics have survived. I do know that
his later lm, Black & Tan, is considered a classic.
Another important rst was a lm called White Fawns
Devotion, directed by James Young Deer. He was suppos-
edly a Winnabego Indian, though this has been disputed.
Whether or not its true, he was one of the rst directors to
present Indian culture and life in a positive light. White
Fawns Devotion is a wonderful little lm, and when stacked
up alongside any Western of the time, its an amazing
piece of sensitivity, though many today do not see it as
such. There was a tradition of Indian lm, and luckily some
of those lms survived because they were duplicated and
15
ORIGINAL DESIGN SCHEMATICS FOR THE METROPOLITAN THEATRE, MANILA
sent around, largely by graduate students who thought
that they served the purpose of preserving traditional
ways of life. Often, they were just used to sell areas to
tourists.
Perhaps the best part of the lms of 1910
were the lms themselves. There were some fo
the nest, and most inuential, lms ever made
up to that point. The rst telling of Mary Shel-
leys Frankenstein was made by the good peo-
ple of Edisons studio. It starred Charles Ogle
as the monster, and while its difcult to follow
for todays audiences, its still great stuff!
Theres White Fawns Devotion, and Cowboy
Justice, and theres the amazingly good version
of The Wizard of Oz. The Danish lm The
Abyss, clearly not an inuence on the later
James Cameron vehicle, also got out in 1910.
Its funny, but before talkies, lms were often
released around the world because all you had
to do with cut in title cards in your language!
Easy-peasy!
1910 was a hugely signicant year, and I
hope youll take a look at some of the videos
out there from that fantastic year!
T h i s i s a Gr e a t P l a c e t o s t a r t !
https://archive.org/search.php?query=1910%
20AND%20collection%3Amoviesandlms
Some great individual lms -
Frankenstein
Ramona
The Wonderful Wizard of OZ
The Abyss
A Christmas Carol
16
CUT TO: 1910 - 1920
17
LES VAMPIRES
A review by
Andrew Duvall
Running Time: 399 minutes
Directed By: Louis Feuillade
Written by: Louis Feuillade
Main Cast: Musidora, Edouard Mathe, Marcel Levesque, Jean Ayme,Fernand Herrmann, Stacia Napierkowska
As a quick sidenote, before the review, here's a little story for ya': So as I men-
tioned previously, I have researched every movie up through the thirties for their
availability. For this particular movie, I had found it on Netix streaming, and
only streaming, as they did not have it to rent. So I get all geared up Sunday
night to sit down and tear into the 399 minute epic, I head over to Netix, click
on "Les Vampires" and realize that they only have the rst two parts of this ten
part serial. So I gure, I'm fucked. So I buzz through the internet looking for
possible leads to a link where I can watch the entire thing...and nothing. I head
over to Amazon at one point, just to see if it's available on VHS (as I assume the
DVD is unavailable, since Netix doesn't have it) and see that it IS available on
DVD and it's somewhere in the neighborhood of $15. Well, I really don't wanna
have a budget for this little journey I'm taking, so that's really not an
option...plus I'm broke as a joke. Then I'm thinking if the damn thing's available
and only $15, why the hell doesn't Netix carry it? Anyway, after a few mo-
ments of cursing Netix, I head over to the Internet Archive website, a nice little
site that has a bunch of links to old movies for free. I type in "Les Vampires" and
a link pops up, however, on the bottom it says: "Warning, this is not the entire
lm, just the rst 30 minutes". Well GREAT!! So for some odd reason I get the
idea to type in the name of just one of the parts, as each part of the ten parts
has it's own title. And guess what...it fucking worked baby!! They had the entire
ten parts split up into their own link. So all ended well in the magical land of
make believe.
If you're interested in the link here it is:
http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=les%20vampires%20AND%20medi
atype%3Amovies
And now I am forever indebted to Internet Archive, for saving my mission
from skipping a movie, after only watching three.
Now then...on to the business at hand...
DID SOMEONE SAY...*GULP*...VAMPIRES?!!
If I were to sum up Les Vampires in one word, I think I'd have to pick...LONG.
At an overwhelming 399 minutes, I can say that this one was not an easy task to
sit through. Although, it wasn't bad at all. The time does get to you after a
while, and you just wanna rip your hair our and move on to something different.
I started this thing Sunday night and just nished it today, meaning it took me
about three days and ve sit downs to put this sucker away. Now that I've
vented about the length, let me tell ya a bit of the good about this ick.
So as I mentioned above Les Vampires is broken up into ten parts, which are
each named, which helps a lot in getting through it. Here are the episodes and
their names and times.
Each episode really doesn't tie into the next all that much. While the main he-
roes and their principle mission stay the same, the villains tend to switch back
18
FROM ARCHIVE.ORG
Not enough emphasis can
be placed on the serial's grim
and stark look, which almost
functions as a characters of
its own. This is a Paris where
the gang's activities have
seemingly terried the people
to the degree that they refuse
to venture out unless it is
absolutely unavoidable.
and forth between several different characters, with only Irma Vep (an anagram
of Vampire and played by Musidora) being a bad "girl" that appears in every
episode. Also each episode is different in that the villains have a different plan
to thwart the good guys or a different treasure to steal or something in each
part.

For me to layout this entire plot to you, would take me as long to write as it took
me to watch Les Vampires, but I'll give you the just of it.
Phillipe Guerande is a newspaper man, who's sole mission is to hunt the Vam-
pires, a gang that is terrorizing Paris, France. No, they're not ACTUALLY vam-
pires, that's just the name they go by. As I said above, the bad guys tend to
switch out, as they are either captured or killed, by the police along with the sup-
port of Guerande and his trusty (and very funny) sidekick Mazamette. You got
the Grand Vampire, Juan-Jose Moreno,Satanas and lastly, Venomous taking on
the job of terrorizing Guerande. Basically, they want him off their case and
they'll do anything to get what they want, including capturing his mother, wife
and friends. But it seems they are always outsmarted by Guerande, as he al-
ways one ups them at every turn.
I was quite surprised by the cleverness of this 1915 lm. For some reason I
thought it would be very cut and dry, but on the contrary the plot was very well
developed and very intricate and the characters, for the most part, were interest-
ing. The character of Mazamette provided the most enjoyment for me, providing
comic relief for the movie. I can't, however, say that it wasn't a chore to sit
through this nearly seven hour lm, because it was. Like I said, there were times
when I just wanted to get on to the next movie, but I still had four hours of Les
Vampires left to watch, so I couldn't.
I'm not sure whether this lm is a must see before you die or not. I could really
argue for both sides. On the one hand, if you don't see it, I really don't think
you're missing a WHOLE LOT, and you're saving yourself from having to watch
a very, very long lm. On the other hand, if you do decide to check it out, I
think you'll nd, that for 1915, it's quite good and quite intriguing in most parts.
So you make the call for yourself on this one...but don't say I didn't warn you
about the length.

RATING: 5.5/10 I couldn't decide between a ve or a six, so I called it right
down the middle.
First appeared at
http://1001movieman.blogspot.com/2009/09/les-vampires-1915.html
19
ON LES VAMPIRES
This title was so misleading!
No Girl-Girl in this one at all!
Chris Garcia, 2002
20
UNREDEEMABLE
RACISM: A
REVIEW OF D.W.
GRIFFITHS
BIRTH OF
A NATION
By Mac McCann
While director D.W. Grifths Birth of a Nation (1915) utilized revolutionary lm techniques
and inuenced audiences nationwide, it is widely frowned upon today (and rightly so) for its gro-
tesque racism. Lasting over three hours, the silent epic covers many personal, local, and national
issues.
Grifth wanted the lm to viewed as not only historically accurate, but morally true as well. Not
simply a reection of the culture, he hoped the lm would help shape American culture (and it did,
unfortunately).
The fact that the movie is a silent black and white lm (although forced upon them because of
technology) reects Grifths view of America in more than one way. He attempts to show the dark
side of wrong, that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue, as the opening slides read. Absolute
in his vicious racism, for Grifth, the dark side of wrong refers almost solely to African-Americans,
whereas the bright side of virtue universally refers to white Americans showing morality in black
and white terms, metaphorically and literally.
This goes back to the one of the very rst text scenes, which read: The bringing of the African to
America planted the rst seed of disunion.
While the various white characters are depicted both positively and negatively, blacks are univer-
sally shown in an extremely negative light. The Ku Klux Klan, which is especially gloried in the lm,
is depicted heroically in their all-white costumes, again emphasizing color differences.
In the opening slides, Grifth also references the Bible and Shakespeare, two staples of our cul-
ture, both then and now. Hoping to produce the lm equivalent of those monumental works, Grifth
force, as he said in an interview, especially because lm
was the Laboring Mans University. The Laboring Man
that Grifth hoped to inuence directly contrasts with the
lms depiction of blacks, who are brutally depicted as
lazy, stupid, violent, and immoral.
The lm is also hugely inuential for its technical and aes-
thetic cinematic achievements and some of the positive val-
ues it promoted (which, of course, by no means cancel out
the lms overwhelming prejudice).
For example, toward the beginning of the lm, a peace-
promoting text slide reads: If in this work we have con-
veyed to the mind the ravages of war to the end that war
may be held in abhorrence, this effort will not have been in
vain. This reects Americans desire for peace, especially
at that time.
Released in 1915, the lm hit theaters during World War I
while America was still neutral. In fact, American anti-war
sentiment was so strong that President Woodrow Wilson,
who supposedly praised the lm as history written with
lightning, campaigned for and won reelection in 1916 us-
ing the slogan He kept us out of war. (Unfortunately, he
didnt keep us out of war for long; the U.S. joined the war
in April 1917.)
A slide during Civil War battle scenes, in which bodies
are scattered throughout the battleeld, again shows an
anti-war message:War claims its bitter, useless sacrice.
Throughout the lm, Grifth emphasizes the nations com-
mon humanity (but only for whites), the terror and ineffec-
tiveness of war, a respect for Abraham Lincoln and Daniel
Webster, and a respect for religion (with Biblical allusions
throughout) ideas that (for good or for bad) are still sup-
ported by many Americans to this day.
Regardless of its positive contributions, the previously
mentioned early text scenes act as a preview and summary
of the brutally racist lm: D.W. Grifths Birth of a Nation
aimed to be a powerful myth in American civil religion
through its attempt to unite white Americans of all regions
by mercilessly scapegoating African-Americans.
Still, The Birth of a Nation has its admirers. Until Gone
with the Wind in 1939, it was the highest grossing lm of
all-time. The lm is preserved in the National Film Registry
after the U.S. Library of Congress deemed it culturally, his-
torically, or aesthetically signicant in 1992. Even famed
critic Roger Ebert wrote, The Birth of a Nation is not a
bad lm because it argues for evil. It is a great lm that ar-
gues for evil. In 1998, the American Film Institute even
recognized it as the 44th best American lm of all-time.
In the end, there are no terric techniques that can re-
deem what it teaches, no industry innovations that can
cover up its ignorant racism.
21
There were significant holdouts, of course. Chaplin didnt
make talking pictures until he made The Great Dictator. The
Avant Garde film community embraced silence, with filmmak-
ers actively choosing to make silent films (and one of the
greatest complaints in the history of film was that many of
the films being shown at the MoMA were silent ...so as not
to disturb the party conversations.). There have, at times,
been attempts to make silent movies, and rarely have they
done well. Well, until recently.
The era from 1920-1929 featured the most mature silent
filmmaking, and the most daring as well. Films like Napoleon
and The Big Parade provided some of the most impressive
work done in the Silent era. Silent comedies were excellent,
especially with the number of excellent comedians working at
the time. Small-time filmmakers started to play with the less
expensive cameras and the results were impressive (The Life
and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra) and some were less
impressive but equally important (home movies from people
like Groucha Marx come to mind).
In the end, this is the period that people who love Silents
talk about when they talk about loving Silence. Its one of the
most impressive eras in all of filmmaking, and film wouldnt
reach the heights the 1920s reached until the death of the Stu-
dio System.
Also, for the first time ever, film was everywhere around
the world. Films were made in large numbers in Asia, Africa,
and South America for the first time ever.
FADE OUT:
22
CHAPTER 3 - 1920 AND BEYOND
And silent film came to an end... mostly.
With the release of The Jazz Singer, Talking pictures were all
the rage. And why not? It was a novelty, much as any film had
been at first, but it ended up as the dominant force in film.
Jason Watches NAPOLEON With Live
Orchestra And Polyvision
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
Wow, wow, wow wow wow wow!
Let's see, I can't get away with just repeating "wow" a thousand
times for a blog post, can I?
Let me start by saying there are two more screenings, tomor-
row (Saturday) and Sunday, March 31 and April 1. Get tickets if you
can. If you can't, just go there early, beat someone up in line and
steal his ticket. Wait, don't do that, I'm just kidding. But it would be
worth it (including the jail time.)
Okay, so I got there and I had my normal seat, front row center.
Actually, slightly off-center, as the center of the Paramount is an
aisle. I should've brought a folding chair and actually sat in the cen-
ter, but I was just to the right instead. I was about an arms length
away from Carl Davis conducting the Oakland East Bay Symphony,
and that was pretty amazing. The orchestra was fantastic, and I sup-
pose decorum should prevent me from mentioning the hot bas-
soonist I ogled occasionally. (To be fair, my unnamed friend ogled
her more, and he was there with his girlfriend)
Let's get on with the movie, shall we? It's an amazing epic, the
faster 5 1/2 hours I've ever spent, which is amazing because with
three intermissions and a dinner break, it was actually 8 1/4 hours.
The story opens with Napoleon as a little child, at school in
France. He shows budding battleeld tactical expertise and an iron
will as he leads his rag-tag army of only 10 children in a victorious
snowball ght against an army of 40. Still, neither the students nor
the teachers really respect him. His foes he vanquished on the eld
of snowy battle break in and release his beloved pet eagle. I really,
23
really want a pet eagle now. But not one I keep in a cage, one that
ies free but returns to me at dramatically appropriate times!
As a grown man, he returns to his home in Corsica [Author's
note: An earlier version said Sicily, which is because I'm an idiot
who confuses islands...also, I'm perpetually drunk] where he nds
the island is torn by political forces who want to align with Eng-
land, Spain, Italy, or France. Napoleon, of course, is the champion of
the French cause. He barely escapes the turmoil in Corsica, and
joins the French army in the artillery. And then let me not get
bogged down in details of the plot. We see his struggles and tri-
umphs during the Revolution. The director Abel Gance appears as
Saint-Just, the most feared gure of The Terror. Then a bunny shows
up randomly. It was really weird to be sitting in the beautiful Para-
mount, watching such a great lm, and then reexively shout-
whisper, "bunny!" and have my friends (who know my little bunny
obsession) stie their giggles. If anyone else heard that and was an-
noyed, I'm really really sorry. I just have a thing about bunnies.
Anyway, we see Napoleon almost sent to the guillotine (same
for Josephine.) We see him go from that to becoming the hero of
France. We see his obsession for Josephine. And we see him go off
and conquer Italy. And that we see in Polyvision. Two side screens
open up (there's a gasp and then cheer from the audience) and we
see three synchronized projectors show the nal 20 minutes in an
amazing, awesome technical achievement that pre-dates Cinerama
by a quarter century. And then, just to crown everything perfectly,
his eagle returns once more! The end.
Oh yeah, it ends with his victory in Italy, none of the rest of his
life. Nothing more of Josephine. No Elba. No Waterloo. Dammit, I
want a sequel, this 5 1/2 hour movie wasn't long enough!
As a side note, I know a lot of people who say they'll wait and
see it when it comes to Los Angeles or New York or...wherever
else they are. I'd never say never, but I think I have about as much
of a chance of seeing zombie Abel Gance direct a sequel to Napo-
leon as you have of seeing this somewhere else. I know it's last-
minute, but just get a ticket, y the red-eye into OAK, and go see
it. You won't regret it.
So that's the story, and I haven't even talked about the technical
brilliance of the lm, other than Polyvision and some hints about
the recurring eagle. Well, here goes. Abel Gance's use of multiple
exposures was masterful--all throughout the movie but particularly
when the ghosts in parliament appear to Napoleon and plead with
him to be the hero of France. Same with his rapid editing and early
use of handheld cameras. Napoleon is cast perfectly, both as a child
(Vladimir Roudenko) and an adult (Albert Dieudonn.) In particu-
lar, their iron-willed stares are excellent. My friends and eye ended
up joking about "eagle-facing" each other during the dinner break.
Now, just a couple of hints for people who are planning to see it
this weekend:
1. During the 20 minute intermissions, have a plan of action.
You can go to the concession stand and get a drink and/or snack.
Or you can buy a souvenir (poster, larger program guide) and
maybe get it signed. Or you can go to the bathroom. You won't
have time to do more than one, the lines will be too long.
2. Related, the concession stands to serve alcohol, and you
are allowed to bring it back to your seat. So if you want to have a
bit of bubbly to aid in the French-ness of the day, you can.
3. During the dinner break, have reservations at a nearby res-
taurant already. It might be too late, and all of them are booked
now. We had reservations and it still took nearly an hour and a half
to get there, order, eat, pay, and return to the theater. If we had to
wait 20 minutes for a table somewhere, we would've been
screwed.
4. Just enjoy. Don't be afraid of the long running time. Seri-
ously, it's the quickest 5 1/2 hours of your life.
24
THE GENERAL AND I By Rich Coad
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
My rst job, when I was fteen, was at a Straw Hat Pizza in Oak-
land, CA. Surprisingly enough, the chain still exists today, and de-
scribes it's modest beginnings as "... Straw Hat restaurants were
modest but lively hangouts with hard bench seating, bright red car-
pets and ocked wallpaper, and they were a special place for peo-
ple of all ages. Along with its unique menu and ice cold beer, each
establishment featured old-time movies, free Charlie Horse rides
for kids, and often showcased local banjo bands." For two dollars
an hour, which is probably equivalent to 10 or 12 an hour today, I
probably would have put up with local banjo bands -- after all I put
up with a silly red and white striped shirt, a black string tie, and a
cheap straw boater -- but I didn't have to. In 1972 there may have
been no local banjo bands in Oakland.
Our branch did, however, feature old-time movies. These arrived
every week from a mysterious distributor in Hollywood, or maybe
Burbank, or possibly Hayward. A stack of half a dozen or so metal
cylinders, each about a half inch deep and nearly two feet in diame-
ter, contained the 16mm lm we were to show for a week before
returning them when the next shipment arrived. Oh yes, children,
this was way before DVDs and even long before video cassettes
battled out between Beta and VHS. If you wanted to see a lm,
you had to have honest-to-goodness, now hard-to-nd, lm, and if
you wanted it to be seen you had to use a projector which could
melt the lm if the sprockets stuck -- creating an instant Fillmore
(or Family Dog) style light show in black and white (unless you
were tripping) that lasted mere instants but was indeed far out for
25
those moments. Old-time movies is, of course, a relative term. I'm
sure there are many readers of THE DRINK TANK for whom the
original NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET or even SCREAM are
old-time movies. As a teenager in the early 70s my own old-time
movies were mostly horror and sf movies from the 50s, which
showed regularly on TV, with an occasional earlier Universal hor-
ror or a classy color ick like THE WIZARD OF OZ. The reper-
tory houses, which showed classic movies like CASABLANCA or
LITTLE CAESAR, were only just starting their spread at this time,
so it wasn't that easy to see much in the way of movies that
weren't either on TV or recently released (of course, this was the
heyday of kung fu, blaxploitation, and eco-disaster lms so the re-
cent releases were well worth seeing). Anyway, I seem to have got-
ten a bit sidetracked. Where was I? Ah, yes, old-time movies ap-
pearing in weekly batches at Straw Hat Pizza. These were generally
a mixed bag of Laurel and Hardy shorts, some cartoons, a B movie
and a feature, with, perhaps, an old
travelogue (sometimes vaguely
racist) or sporting news (Babe
Ruth and Jack Dempsey and
Seabiscuit were popular topics).
The lms weren't all silent but
with all the commotion in the res-
taurant, they may as well have
been.
I may have seen my rst Marx
Brothers movie at Straw Hat. I
denitely saw my rst Buster Kea-
ton movie there. One batch of
movies contained a feature length
silent movie called THE GEN-
ERAL. As with all of the movies
that were shown at the restau-
rant, we staff saw it in a piecemeal
fashion. A scene here of botched
attempts to add water to the
boiler of a locomotive, a scene
there of a man under a table lis-
tening to the ofcers seated at
the table discuss their plans. A
disconsolate Johnnie, rejected
from enlisting because of his value
as a train engineer (listen up,
James Bacon), sitting on the drive
shafts of his beloved engine. A
locomotive chase. Cannons!
Trains forced on to dead-end
spurs! A bridge alight. The most expensive scene ever lmed!
A week went by. Each of us had our own particular favorite snip-
pets from THE GENERAL. Tales circulated and staff said, "hell yeah,
I gotta see that scene, too!" and THE GENERAL did not get re-
turned with the other lms. And time passed and it stayed in Oak-
land. For four weeks beyond its due date we kept that movie, until
every one of us had seen the entire lm in a completely different
sequence. Before sending it back we had an after hours viewing
that had us all enthralled from beginning to end. And if that is not
a denition of genius, a lm that can enthrall a motley crew of
stoner high school students, and still enthrall over 40 years on,
when the lm is nearly 90 years old, well, if it's not genius it's a
damned reasonable facsimile.
26
Silent Masterpieces: The
Penalty And The Passion Of
Joan Of Arc By Chuck Serface
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
One evening during
dinner, Chris Garcia
asked me, What s
your favorite silent
film? More than a
few came to mind,
such as those by the
German Expression-
ists, Pandoras Box
s t a r r i n g L o u i s e
Brooks, and Sergei
Eisensteins Battleship
Potemkin. I replied,
however, The Passion
of Joan of Arc . . . no,
wait. The Penalty with
Lon Chaney. In fact,
both hold equal places
in my heart, because
both examine the hu-
man condition from
different philosophical
points of view. When
Chris then revealed
that he was planning
the special issue on si-
lent films that youre
reading now, I leapt at
the chance to explain
why Im so in love
with these two films.
Lets begin with The
Penalty.
27
The Penalty
The world remembers Lon Chaney as The Man of a Thousand Faces, and that reputa-
tion stems from more than just his role as a pioneer of cinematic makeup techniques.
Chaney not only used makeup and applications, but he effected body-transforming contor-
tions using various contraptions to alter his physical appearance and stature. His Quasi-
modo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Erik from The Phantom of the Opera come to
mind for most. In 1920, however, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer released The Penalty, a crime
yarn which many consider to be his breakout performance, directed by Wallace Worsley,
with whom Chaney would collaborate later on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Charles Kenyon, Philip Lonergan, and Gueverneur Morris adapted the script from Mor-
riss novel of the same name. The story involves Blizzard, played by Chaney, a crime boss
and double-amputee who during childhood lost his legs when Dr. Ferris, a surgeon fresh
out of medical school, removed them unnecessarily. Ferris then lied to Blizzard and his
parents in an attempt to hide his incompetence. But Blizzard had overheard an earlier
conversation between Ferris and a colleague who encouraged this deception. Blizzard be-
came embittered, and years later would develop into the underworld chief of the Barbary
Coast region of San Francisco. It is at this juncture that Blizzard again encounters Dr. Fer-
ris and his daughter, a sculptress, and plots his revenge while planning a citywide crime
caper worthy of Dr. Mabuse, the evil mastermind from German cinema.
Of course, no computerized special effects existed to transform Chaney into a legless
amputee, so he resorted to a system of belts and straps to pin his lower legs behind his
body. He then tted his knees into leather cuffs and wore oversized clothing to further
mask these bodily manipulations. Viewers are stunned as Chaney leaps, climbs, and walks
with the aid of crutches. How he endured having his legs tied in this manner for so long
boggles, even if it has been reported widely that he suffered severe back strain while com-
pleting this project. With cosmetics and facial distortions, he adds the nishing touch to
his evil caricature.
One watches The Penalty for Chaneys performance, since several inconsistencies mar
the plot. Nonetheless, Im attracted not only to Chaneys mastery, but to how this lm
stands as an example of early twentieth-century naturalism. Emile Zola rst dened natu-
ralism in literature as a philosophical attempt to study humankind and the laws that gov-
ern our behaviors. These laws are observable in the physical environment, and the overall
hypothesis dictates that our behaviors originate not from any spiritual agency, but from
earthly antecedents. Much literature of the era follows what became a movement of
sorts, and novels in this vein are rife with undereducated or lower-class characters, pessi-
mistic moods, and gritty settings, all concocted to test how we develop morally through
our physical environments. Indeed, Frank Norris or Theodore Dreiser could have written
the script for The Penalty, which ends with an exploration on the origins of Blizzards evil
nature that has nothing to do with the shock of losing his legs and overhearing two doc-
tors scheme to deceive him. In searching for revenge, Blizzard even maneuvers Barbara,
Dr. Ferriss daughter, into employing him as a model for what she hoped would stand as
her most magnicent sculpture, Satan after the Fall. This implied comparison between
Blizzard and Satan might invite viewers to conclude that some spiritual agency is afoot in
the universe, one that played on Blizzards anger and bitterness to tempt him to the dark
side, but no. The ending, even though easily perceived as Blizzards comeuppance, springs
from nothing but earthly causes.
28
THE PENALTY (1920)
The Penalty on Archive.org
Lon Chaney plays Blizzard,
a deranged psychopath
scarred by the childhood
operation where a young
doctor mistakingly amputated
both of his legs. Hellbent on
revenge Blizzard becomes a
master criminal. This is one of
Lon Chaney's most famous
non-horror roles.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
I rst encountered the Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer
through a friend madly in love with his work. Vampyr and Ordet
ranked high in his estimation, but he simply raved about the silent
opus that many have deemed not only his masterpiece, but one of
the greatest masterpieces of all cinematic history, The Passion of
Joan of Arc. Unfortunately, my friend informed me, you cant nd
a VHS or DVD copy of the version you should watch, Dreyers
original, the one restored in 1985. Lo and behold, in 1999 Crite-
rion released a DVD featuring this very version, found in a Norwe-
gian mental institution, where it had rested unseen by human eyes
since its premiere in 1928 -- until 1981 when a worker stumbled
on it in a closet! Id never seen my friend more ecstatic. After pur-
chasing my own copy and viewing it, I too immediately joined the
hallelujah chorus.
Others have gone into great detail about the convoluted history
of The Passion of Joan of Arc replete with angry French nationalists
and Catholics looking to censor controversial materials, accidental
res at studios, Dreyers status as a non-Catholic, until nally
theres the gold at the end of a rainbow ending in a closet in a men-
tal hospital in Oslo, Norway. The Criterion DVD includes a nice
summary of this sad progression of events leading to a nal event
somewhat akin to the falling of manna from Heaven, and yet an-
other reason for you to obtain that DVD. I dream that one day
another like this Norwegian employee will come across a pristine
copy of Lon Chaneys London after Midnight. Im not accepting bets,
however.
As for the plot, most are familiar with the Maid of Orleans, the
fteenth-century peasant girl who led the French into battle
against the English during the Hundred Years War. In 1430, English
troops captured her and then turned her over for trial. Dreyer
begins his story here with a screenplay based on actual transcripts
of Joans trial, conducted by French priests who were pro-English.
Amazingly, Renee Jeanne Falconetti, the actress portraying the
nineteen-year old Joan, was thirty-ve at the time, but Falconettis
performance compels us to easily overlook the difference. The
actions mirrors passion stories told about the trial and execution
of Christ, and through her eventual martyrdom Joan ascends to
Christ-like status. Dreyer chooses to map this ascension through,
of all elements, the faces of his actors.
Honestly, I cant recall any lm that so successfully relies on por-
traits to relate thematic content. Dreyer juxtaposes close-ups of
Mlle. Falconetti, her eyes wide and lled with either fear or grace
depending on the moment, with the venal scowls or derisive leers
of the priests and jailers to emphasize the distinction between
Joans true devotion and the corrupt nature of the Church. The
actors wear no makeup. Often ies crawl across Joans face, or a
tear falls along her cheek. The faces of her inquisitors -- caked
with moles and carbuncles, crevices furrowed into their cheeks,
and malicious light burning in their eyes -- tell more about betrayal
and false piety than any lengthy tract by Luther or Calvin. Further-
more, Dreyer chose an austere setting that while convincingly me-
dieval has minimal detail so as not to distract from the true center
of this story, the faces of those experiencing it.
When the Criterion DVD reaches your hands, experience The Pas-
sion of Joan of Arc both with and without Richard Einhorns 1995
Voices of Light musical score. Einhorn incorporates several me-
dieval components that wonderfully accentuate to movement of
the lm. However, watching without the score will allow you to
focus more on the cinematography. This lm is a master class in
cinematography from the facial angles to the chief interrogator en-
tering the room and blotting out the shadow of a cross formed
from the sun shining through the lattice of a window. Although
29
THE CRITERION CONTRAPTION ON
The Passion of Joan of Arc
I've watched this movie ve or six times in the last
few weeks, and I haven't come close to plumbing its
depths. It's searing, harrowing, pick your adjective.
I've been trying to describe the effect it had on me,
the experience of watching it, and I don't think I'm a
good enough writer by half. So let's stick to the
facts.
lost on few, the symbolism here strikes one as bold rather than
blunt.
Both The Penalty and The Passion of Joan of Arc present audi-
ences with debauched worlds and individuals. Both consist of
plots and themes that investigate human nature. The differences
lie in philosophical focus and outcomes. Both end in redemption,
but the crafters of The Penalty envision this not so much as Gods
grace, but as biologically determined through what eventually hap-
pens to Blizzard medically and how this changes his nature. I
wont reveal more details. Youll have to watch to see what I
mean. The Passion of Joan of Arc, on the other hand, is all about
spirituality, about how pure devotion to God can free us from the
esh. If only those pro-English priests had listened to Gods mes-
sage as told through Joan before it was too late! But its not too
late for you. Both these lms await your attention.
30
LOUDER THAN WAR ON THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC
The searing emotional intensity of Dreyers masterwork has continued to inspire cutting edge artists through
the decades. In his 1962 picture Vivre Sa Vie, Jean-Luc Godard cites Dreyers close-ups of the martyrdom of
Falconetti in shots taken from The Passion of Joan of Arc.
FADE OUT:
Hardcore Silent Comedy fans will often ask
new folks a question - Chaplin or Keaton? I
was asked once. At a party. In Hollywood.
In a house that had been owned by Tom
Mix. My answer - Harold Lloyd.
Thats an easy answer for me,
actually. Yeah, Chaplins the better
sentamentalist (and The Circus is a
masterpiece), and Keatons one
of the best physical actors of
the last century, with Sherlock
Jr., Steamboat Bill, Jr., and Cops
all being among the best
American comedy lms ever
made. But as far as comedy
goes, its all about Harold
Lloyd, and in particular the
fact that he created three of
the ve best silent lms ever.
Unquestionably, Safety
Last is the nest comedy ever
crafted. Its the only silent com-
edy I showed to Evelyn when
she wasnt reading well that
played for her. She got it, and she
was nervous that our hero was
going to fall off the building as he
made his way to the top. The scene
on the clock actually made her jump!
And while thats the stuff that folks always
point to, there is so much good stuff
throughout the movie, notably Lloyd hiding in
a coatrack that is carried into work as a way to
get in late without does it without the detached
zombie-like stare. Theres a lot of little comedy, and it never lets up.
Lloyd was a much bigger stuntman than Keaton, but thats ne, be-
cause he puts out as much heart in his performances as Chaplin.
Watch the love story in Safety Last and youll see his heart come
through. Its sappy, but adorable!
Now, Safety Last is just about the perfectly paced Silent lm, but
far from his only lm of any signicance. The Freshman, two years
after Safety Last, is one of the rst College comedies, and its just
about the perfect one. Glass, Lloyds young go-getter character, is
the new kid who decides to try and win popularity through playing
on the College Football team. It features the most feel-good of all
possible endings! It was a huge box ofce hit, but it was also consid-
ered to be Lloyds best lm. I disagree, but I do love it so very
much.
The other Lloyd lms of the 20s were great, including Speedy,
which is completely constructed like a Chaplin. Harolds trying to
save the last horse-drawn streetcar in New York. I managed to
read a lot about it, but sadly, Ive never seen it. It also has an appear-
ance from Babe Ruth.
Hot Water has a great Haunted House sequence and is probably
a level below those three, but is still really funny.
While both Chaplin and Keaton made some great shorts, no one
was better at the short comedy than Harold Lloyd. His Lonesome
Luke series of lms for Pathe are among the best of their kind. He
made a ton of them and Ill take them over The Gold Rush any day.
A Jazzed Honeymoon and Billy Blazes, esq. are both fantastic, and I
can remember talking to Forry Ackerman about The Rajah, which
was directed by Hal Roach.
Let me also say that there were so many other silent comedians,
like Charley Chase and Harry Langdon, but these three had the
longest, and biggest money, careers. All of them found new life,
largely because a greater percentage of their lms have survived
and can be featured. That fact has made the DVD sets great, and
the Harold Lloyd set is AMAZING!
31
Neither A Chaplin Nor A Keaton Be
by Chris Garcia
First Impressions: King Vidors The Big
Parade (1925) By
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
John Gilberts been on my mind. With Turner Classic
Movies set to run a nine movie Gilbert birthday
marathon on Wednesday, I started my copy
of Dark Star, the 1985 biography by his
daughter, Leatrice Gilbert Fountain, on
Tuesday. Im dying to clickBuy on Eve
Goldens new Gilbert biography, but
I just cant bring myself to do so
until Ive read the earlier book
that has been sitting on my book-
shelf far too long.
I had planned to write about my
favorite Gilbert talkie, Gentlemans
Fate (1931), for Wednesday, but at
the last moment chose to put that off
for a later date. Instead I decided to
write about my rst impressions of King Vi-
dors The Big Parade, originally released by MGM
in 1925. I watched this major silent lm classic for the
rst time late Monday night.
And, after all, if I was going to write about it that meant I would
have to watch it for a second time Tuesday so I could grab some
images for this post. After spending daytime Tuesday recalling sev-
eral moments I had enjoyed so much watching the night before,
there was nothing I would rather do than create another opportu-
nity to watch The Big Parade!
I enjoy the history around the First World War more than I do
World War II. Its no slight against the Greatest Generation, which
my grandparents were a part of. I grew up around that generation
in their senior years, and sadly all those I knew from it are now
gone. But I shared a common world with that group long enough
to hear the stories and not consider their past all
that distant. Our worlds intersected; we
even watched movies together. This was
not the case for me with the previous
generation. I had no direct relation-
ship with any of them. Their time
is only known to me through
books and movies, a world just
outside my reach of total un-
derstanding.
But people dont change all
that much and as long as you
can get over any silent lm buga-
boos youll nd much of what
made The Big Parade work so well
at the time of its original release does
the same today. Love and war spring uni-
versal emotions and King Vidor captures
them all in his sprawling tale of a time that was not
so far removed when the lm was originally released in No-
vember 1925.
We miss out on that. What must it have been like to see The Big
Parade as a veteran of the War or as one whod seen their father,
husband, or brother serve, perhaps even been maimed or die, dur-
ing that recent world calamity?
m sure many women attending wished they had been Renee
Adoree, but how would a young woman in the crowd had felt if
her personal history had more resembled that of the Claire Adams
character? And what of the men who had fought and made it back?
Did a faint smile cross their lips while watching the antics of John
Gilbert, Karl Dane and Tom OBrien? Did once forgotten dalliances
32
cause them to ush at their wifes side as Gilbert romanced
Adoree? And the battle, what might that possibly have done to
them? Adrenaline surely spiked, but what emotions poured forth?
Thankfully, I had none of those concerns while watching The Big
Parade unfold my rst time. John Gilbert plays Jim Apperson, the
spoiled, number two son of strict father (Hobart Bosworth) and
doting mother (Claire McDowall). When War comesand this re-
action always seems so foreignthere is celebration. Young Apper-
son isnt celebrating though. He looks a little worried. At least until
he is swept away by a patriotic parade that leads to his enlisting.
John Gilbert is quickly off to Europe. But its going to be awhile be-
fore King Vidor brings us any battle.
The next hour of the lm is spent allowing the viewer to embrace
the Gilbert character, whose beginnings were a bit shaky for us.
First he becomes friendly with Dane and OBrien and then, more
importantly, he falls in love with Renee Adorees French girl, Meli-
sande.
The language barrier makes this an especially cute courtship and
this was probably intensied back in the mid-20s when silent lm
was the norm. Being so used to hearing voices, the silent Melisande
did not seem nearly as foreign to me as she certainly did to Apper-
son. We cant hear either of them and so Gilbert comes off as
chatty as any silent lead while Adoree seems more mute than for-
eign. Still, their differences are accentuated and the romance works,
soon magnicently. It grows throughout this hour and is punctu-
ated by the famous chewing gum scene before building to Adorees
mad dash through the streets seeking out Gilbert amongst the
other soldiers after he and the other men have nally been called
off to battle.
While this is the rst time I watched The Big Parade from start to
nish, I had seen clips of this particular scene several times in vari-
ous documentaries and so, again, from my retrospective view, while
the men are being rounded up and begin marching off a little ex-
citement built in me. Here it comes, I thought, the classic scene,
the one I knew so well. But I had only known it off in space, on its
own.
It would have been easy to be let down. Its happened before dur-
ing similar experiences. Oh, is that it? or Wait, THAT was the cli-
max? were thoughts that never occurred to me during my acquain-
tance with this scene in its correct context. Sure, it was the climax:
of the rst half of the movie. Tension only grows from this point as
The Big Parade becomes a total war epic for the next 45 minutes.
33
Was that it? Well, if it was, it was everything: Gilbert loves Adoree and now were fully in-
vested in Gilbert. Hes got to survive this damned war; hes got to get this girl back!
The battle scenes that follow are eerie, ferocious, heart-breaking and rousing, sometimes
all at once. While Gilbert spouts occasional corn across the title cards once the men have
advanced deep into battle, it was surely served fresh back during the original run of the
lm. Previously my favorite infantry battle scenes were from All Quiet on the Western Front
(1930) and as soon as Kirk Douglas blows his whistle in Paths of Glory (1957). Vidors elabo-
rately choreographed and shockingly brutal battle from The Big Parade now stands along-
side them, if not out front.
Even before the mustard gas or the tense wait in the shell holes I was hooked. As the men
make their initial march forward, spread just a few feet apart, the silence of The Big Parade
is magnied. Why? Because were in their boots now, the movie has totally captured us.
Out of the corner of your eye youll spot a soldier dropping to the ground dead and the
death just doesnt stop. The slow determined march moves forward, the falling bodies be-
coming more prominent and our only hope becomes that Gilbert, Dane and OBrien con-
tinue to stand and march.
Ill be honest. There were times during the rst half of the movie, when Gilbert and
Adoree were falling for each other, that I thought to myself, isnt this supposed to be a
war movie? I was enjoying what I watched, but it wasnt what I had originally expected. I
knew the importance of Adorees involvement, but still, I came to the movie expecting
war to be hell from start to nish. Our war nally comes, but it really begins just before
that rst battle when Adoree desperately seeks out the young American she has fallen in
love with.
And that made my second viewing on Tuesday night all the more pleasant. The Big Parade
gets better the second time. The power of what is to come still builds anticipation, but the
story that leads us to the battleeld is improved both by knowing what does follow yet
understanding just how much we will come to value these characters in reaching the hell
that Vidor is about to put them through.
I watched The Big Parade nearly ninety years after it was rst released. I suppose the best
answer as to how it was received in the 1920s would be the bottom line. It became, argua-
bly, the highest grossing lm to that time and is still, along with The Birth of a Nation
(1915), one of the two all-time highest grossing lms of the silent era.
The Big Parade was originally released at 140 minutes in 1925 when it premiered at Grau-
mans Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. A few weeks later it premiered in New York at the
Astor Theatre where it ran for a stunning two years! It only had limited release at that
time and most of the country had to wait nearly two years for it to reach them during a
September 1927 re-release.
The copy I viewed was recorded off of TCM from the 1988 restoration produced by
David Gill and Kevin Brownlow. The Big Parade was previously released on VHS in 1992
and after yet another restoration in 2005 nally comes to Blu-ray and DVD from Turner
Home Entertainment on October 1, 2013.
Third time should be even more the charm for me come this October.
34
LOREM IPSUM, DOLOR
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,
ligula suspendisse nulla
pretium, rhoncus tempor
placerat fermentum, enim
integer ad vestibulum
volutpat. Nisl rhoncus turpis
est, vel elit, congue wisi libero
enim nunc ultricies sit,
porttitor magna tincidunt.
L For Laughs - Or - Amazing Acting
By Chris Garcia
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
I had never seen The Man
Who Laughs. Sure, Id read
about it, even had a chance to
see it with the legendary Den-
nis James at the Console of the
Stanford Theatre. Nope, never
happened. My great apprecia-
tion for Conrad Veidt made this
an untenable situation, and
thus, with an assist from my
good friend Chuck Serface, I
nally saw The Man Who Laughs.
And all I could think about was
V for Vendetta.
I hear the heads bei ng
scratched. A 2006 lm about a
terrorist based on a comic book from the 1980s has little to do
with a 1928 lm based on a 19th Century novel, right? Well, yeah, it
doesnt, but the lead actor in both cases went beyond the screen
giving a performance of such quality, they werent allowed to use
all their attributes.
In The Man Who Laughs, Conrad Veidt plays Gwynplaine, the heir
to a noblemen who is put to death by King James. Gwynplaine is
given to gypsies, and their doctor carves his face into a permanent
smile. Yes, he looks like The Joker (and hes probably the inspiration
for Batmans most hated villain), and thus he becomes a performer,
The Man Who Laughs. Of course, hes a crying on the inside kind
of clown. The lm tells his story of trial, how he is separated from
his love, the blind Dea, who he has refused to marry because he
fears that a man so ugly could not even marry a blind girl.
In V for Vendetta, Hugo Weaving plays V, a freedom ghter who is
planning to blow up Parliament. Hes horribly disgured from a re
at the site where he was being experimented on.
The similarity? They are both acting with only portions of their
being. You cant see Weavings face at all, which means he only has
the rest of his body to get across the emotions of his character.
something simple like the way he offers a chair to his guest/
prisoner Effy tells HUGE amounts of his love for her without the
use of his face at all.
Veidt has it slightly easier. His mouth is in a permanent grin,
which makes the world believe he is smiling at all times. Veidt
played the character so well, most impressively by emoting through
his eyes. At that point in Silent Film, the acting was still very broad,
but there was still a subtlety to it that Veidt managed to tap into
with his expressions. His mouth a grimacing mask for the anguish
of his heart, and without a single change in anything but his eyes,
hes a kind lover who is tending to his beloved Dea. The acting that
Veidt does is incredible, and it is incredibly impressive to see acting
that uid in a Silent picture, but there it is.
The idea of the restrained actor having to make do with what
they can use is not new, but these are two actors at the height of
their craft using every one of their other tools to give a perform-
ance that is both moving and terrifying. And theres no secret that
these are two frightening gures, especially Gwynplaine, who has
been disgured in such a way that no one can tell what true emo-
tion he is feeling. Somehow, Veidt managed to bring that to us.
35
The Life And Death Of 9413: A
Hollywood Extra - A Review By
Nathanael C Hood
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
What does it take to create a
great lm? Trained actors, expen-
sive sets, impossible special ef-
fects? Does a director need
three assistants, the cameraman
three grips, and the actors per-
sonal hairdressers? Could it be that
we have trained ourselves to believe
that lms can only measure up to the
sum of their parts? To think so would be
foolish. For decades lmmakers have proven that
great pieces of art can be made on minuscule budgets.
How many big budget Hollywood directors started their careers
by making cheap horror lms with their friends in their local
woods? How many independent lms have been created thanks to
the dissemination of cheap camera equipment and lm stock? In
this age of digital video and Youtube, it is easier than ever for ama-
teurs to get their cinematic visions made. But what about the time
when the cinema was still in its infancy? Filmmakers like Grifth
and DeMille didnt have Super-8 lm or PixelVision cameras. Mur-
nau and Lang didnt have access to Final Cut Pro. But that didnt
stop young lmmakers from making bold, brash, and innovative
lms. One need only look at the phenomenal The Life and Death of
9413: A Hollywood Extra to see that even in the cinemas youth lm-
makers were not limited by their budgets, but by their imagina-
tions.
Made in 1928, it had a budget
of $96 (adjusted for ination,
thats $1191.33). Sources say
that the money was divvied up as
s uc h: F i l m Neg a t i ve , $25
($310.24), Store Props, $3 ($27.23),
Development and Printing, $55
($682.54), Transportation, etc, $14
($173.74). The sets were made of toys and
cardboard buildings that were projected like
shadows. Paper cut outs and spare lm stock litter
the background to create a thriving metropolis. Notice that
the expenses of the lm didnt include actors salaries. That is be-
cause the actors werent immediately paid, but compensated with
benets that they could claim at a later date. Quite simply, The Life
and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra was one of the thriftiest lm
productions in early cinema history.
From this tiny budget came one of the most challenging and
stinging indictments of the Hollywood production system in his-
tory. The story begins simply enough: a man goes to Hollywood
with the hopes of becoming a movie star. The man (played by John
Jones) travels to the desk of the appropriately named Mr. Almighty,
the Hollywood producer. He presents Mr. Almighty with a letter of
recommendation. However, Mr. Almighty callously dismisses him
after writing the number 9413 on his forehead. The number be-
36
Directed by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapi!
1928
The United States of America
comes his identity. As he joins the ranks of other Hollywood extras, he notices that
they also have numbers. He meets #13, a pretty female extra. He also meets #15, a
handsome man who eventually becomes a star.
We watch #15s escalation to stardom in a curious sequence of scenes where he
puts on a number of different masks. Each mask has a different facial expression on
it. Eventually, it becomes apparent that the masks represent his ability to act and
adopt different personas. #9413 approaches #15 and shows him his own mask. It is
a imsily made piece of paper and doesnt live up to the standard of #15s stately
plastic masks. #9413 is spurned and forced out as #15 begins a terrible downward
spiral beset upon him by his crushing popularity.
But we dont have much time to focus on #15s plight. The lm is, after all, about
#9413. As he moves from audition to audition, he becomes more and more de-
pressed by his failures. In one of the lms most inventive scenes, we see a montage
of #9413 trying to climb a ight of stairs. But each time he almost makes it to the
top, a jump cut deposits him back at the bottom. A modern Sisyphus, #9413 is
doomed to be denied his beloved prize. Having lost his identity and money to failure
and bill collectors, #9413 succumbs and dies. He ascends to heaven (with the aid of
several paper cutouts and a long piece of string) whereupon he meets an angel. The
heavenly specter wipes the number from #9413s head, restoring the humanity that
was stolen from him in Hollywood.

Despite its short length (it only clocks in at about 13 minutes) and almost nonex-
istent budget, The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra is a miracle of early lm-
making. In many ways, its frugality was its greatest strength. The cardboard sets and
paper cutouts make the lm seem reminiscent of German Expressionism and the
French avant-garde. Much of the lms beauty comes from the masterful cinematog-
raphy designed by co-director Slavko Vorkapi". Vorkapi", who would become most
well known for his montage work in such lms as David Coppereld (1935) and Mr.
Smith Goes to Washington (1939), had a true eye for lming special effects. As an audi-
ence weaned on CGI and high tech special effects, Vorkapi"s cutouts and projec-
tions are easy for us to identify. And yet, they have aged so well that we dont mind
that they look fake.
But the true genius behind the lm is director Robert Florey. Beginning his career
as an assistant to Louis Feuillade (director of the infamous Les Vampires serial) and as
an assistant director to Jose von Sternberg, Florey was one of the most diverse di-
rectors in early Hollywood history. He would helm as director the rst Marx Broth-
ers movie The Cocoanuts (1929), several low budget horror lms such as the Bela
Lugosi scream-fest Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), and the lm noir The Crooked
Way (1949). He was even chosen to direct 1931s Frankenstein before it was reas-
signed to James Whale. Florey demonstrated his considerable skill before it was fully
developed in The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra. Much like his later lms, it
is dominated by a moody, and often tragic, atmosphere that permeates each shot.
What we are presented with is a cinematic vision of a life wasted, of potential extin-
guished, of dreams shattered.
37
Truly, The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra was a labor of love. A tale of great
tragedy and redemption, it has become even more relevant in todays society that so ea-
gerly embraces the cult of celebrity. While no-talent hacks are paid millions of dollars a
lm just to stand around and look pretty, real professionals, real artists, struggle everyday
to make ends meet so they can achieve their dreams. The Life and Death of 9413: A Holly-
wood Extra is a tribute and a memorial to those who will never achieve their goals thanks
to a cruel and unforgiving system. But it also serves as a beacon of hope for those who
wish to pursue careers in lmmaking. Just as Vorkapi" and Florey created a masterpiece
with only $96, The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood Extra beckons new generations of
artists to get out there and create with all theyve got.
38
FROM THE AMERICAN
SOCIETY OF
CINEMATOGRAPHERS
The most di st i ngui shi ng
hallmarks of the lm are the
intricate German Expressionistic
cityscapes created by Vorkapich.
They bear strong resemblances to
Lotte Reinigers cutout silhouettes
in her animated lms, as well as to
models in Fritz Langs Metropolis,
but created on a much leaner
budget. Much of the kinetic feel of
the cityscapes is purported to
have been done by swinging a
b a r e l i g h t b u l b b e h i n d a
translucent screen, creating the
illusion of movement and dancing
shadows.
Whats My Favorite Silent Movie?
Silent Movie By Mel Brooks
An Appreciation By Will Frank
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
OK, I'm biased, because as far as I'm concerned Mel Brooks is
the one plus ultra of comedy, but really.
A quick recap of the plot:
The lm stars Mel Brooks, along with Marty Feldman and Dom
DeLuise, and a dozen celebrity cameos. Mel Funn (Brooks), Dom
Bell (DeLuise), and Marty Eggs (Feldman) are a lm director and
his assistants, who want to make a silent picture; the chief (Sid Cae-
sar) of Big Picture Studios (Paramount Pictures), facing a takeover
threat by the conglomerate Engulf & Devour (Gulf+Western Indus-
tries), thinks it's crazy until Brooks--I mean, Funn--offers to recruit
the biggest stars in Hollywood.
So they get Burt Reynolds (Burt Reynolds), James Caan (James
Caan), Liza Minnelli (Liza Minnelli), Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Mel
Brooks), and Paul Newman (Robert Redford--sorry, habit)...but
Marcel Marceau (Marcel Marceau) turns them down: "Non!" (Spo-
ken aloud.)
Hold on, I think I got lost. Where does the movie end and the
actual history of conglomerates buying lm studios start? I haven't
been this confused since I watched Inception and Primer at the
same time.
I haven't even gotten to the part where E&D sends Vilma Kaplan
(Bernadette Peters), the classic vamp, to ruin Funn. But anyway.
Mel had already done the whole "spoof a genre" bit with Blazing
Saddles and Young Frankenstein, and he went back to his roots on
this one; not only did he spend his early career writing for Sid Cae-
sar's groundbreaking Your Show of Shows (including plenty of slap-
stick and silent sequences), but as a child born in the '20s, he grew
up watching Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
As a result, Silent Movie is a slapsticky gem, lled with puns (includ-
ing musical; the musicians accidentally playing "San Francisco" to
open a scene in New York, then quickly correct themselves), prat-
falls (a whole sequence with a drunk Funn facing a Murphy bed),
Pong on an EKG monitor, and especially, inevitability. Probably my
favorite joke in the lm is when an exterminator's car (complete
with giant fake y bolted to the roof) crashes, and the y goes
(ahem) ying off and lands on a table in a restaurant, right in front
of a man (Henny Youngman, no less!) who's enjoying a bowl of
soup.
I don't care whether you've seen the movie or not, you know
what the line is.
"Waiter...there's a y in my soup."
You see it coming for miles, you can't do anything about it, and
when it hits, it hits like a pie to the face. (Which, yes, also happens.
But then, we'd already seen a full on Grand Pie Fight in Blazing Sad-
dles, so Brooks doesn't quite go to that well again.)
That's Silent Movie and Mel Brooks in general for you. Inevitable
humor, delivered without subtlety or apology. Just groans.
And come on. It's a silent movie with one word of audible
dialog...spoken in French...by the world's most famous mime.
What's not to love?
39
Silents All These Years By Chris Garcia
FADE OUT: 1920 AND BEYOND
Most folks believe that once
the Talkies arrived, the Silents
died, buried until unearthed
by Michael Mazanavicius to
make The Artist. This is ac-
tually not the case, and
some excellent Silent Films
have been made in the years
since Jolson sang Swanee.
First off, theres Chaplin. The
guy resisted making talking pic-
tures until he made The Great Dicta-
tor. Two of his most beloved films, Mod-
ern Times and City Lights, were made after The
Jazz Singer. City Lights is probably the third best Chaplin
film, and one of the few I enjoy, and Modern Times is his Sci-
ence Fiction film.
Murnau made a couple of silents in the 1930s - City Girl
and Tabu. Neither is among his best work, but they are both
very interesting. Ozu, one of the best of all Japanese direc-
tors, made the wonderful I Was Born, But... in 1932, and two
years later made A Story of Floating Weeds. A significant
number of silents were made in the 30s in Russia, China, Ja-
pan, India, and Spain, and Im sure elsewhere as well.
It was in the realm of the Avant Garde that silence re-
mained golden.
Perhaps it is the freedom of knowing that no matter what
you do, you aint gonna be making money that freed filmmak-
ers from having to worry about being what the audience
seemed to want. The Life and Death of 9413: A Hollywood
Extra and Luis Buuels Un Chien Andalou both came out at
the very tail end of the silent era, in 1928 and 1929 respec-
tively. These spawned a massive number
avant garde films over the next 50 years.
Joseph Cornell, Looking at the number
of silent films on Avant Garde compila-
tions like the Treasures double-DVD
set, and youll see the importance.
Filmmakers have been paying
homage to the Silents more and more the
last decade or so. Yes, you had Silent
Movie and Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot
by Jacques Tati and Tuvalu in 1990, but it
really wasnt until 2001 or so that you started to
see more and more silent-ish films pop up. Guy Mad-
din did a silent-style short, followed by A Brand Upon The
Brain. The HP Lovecraft Historical Society produced The
Call of Cthulhu, arguably the best Silent made after the end
of the Silents. While music, and I think sound effects, exist on
the print, the acting and the intertitles are EXACTLY what Id
have expected had it been released in 1926. I am desperate to
see two films of the fantastic that are largely silents. The first,
the Japanese Sanguivorous, is a vampire film. The second,
Spains Blancanieves, is a dramatic fantasy.
There have been a lot of films about the Silent Era, and Id
include The Artist in that category. Yes, its largely a Silent,
has intertitles and the like, but also its got sound effects and
music. Ive watched it without the sound on and its still very
good, and followable, and would LOVE to see it with Dennis
James at the console.
I havent seen Silent Life (about the life and death of Ru-
dolph Valentino) or Right There, but i am making plans to
complete my Silent Education!

40
Biographies!
2014 - Office Supply Publishing
Chris Garcia, James Bacon, Vanessa Applegate are your editors. Letters of Comment to journeyplanet@gMail.com
xli
Vanessa Applegate - Artist, artisan, and editor, somehow she put up with Chris watching all these damned silent movies!
She makes hairpieces and hats that you will find at whiskeytangofashion.com
James Bacon - a Hugo-winning Fanzine Editor. Chris has just sent him a thumbdrive with a dozen pieces of silent news-
reel footage from WWI.
Christopher J Garcia - Lives in Boulder Creek, California, sees silents a few times a year, and edits fanzines.
Forgotten movie stars and obscure old movies are the focus of Cliff Alipertis blog, Immortal Ephemera.com. Estab-
lished in 2002 as a base for Cliffs online movie collectibles business, Immortal Ephemera has expanded over the years
into a site concentrating upon movies and stars of the 1930s, especially those whose stories have been too long neglected.
Rich Coad is a writer and editor out of Northern California. His zine Sense of Wonder Stories, really is worth checking
out. Its available at http://efanzines.com/SoWS/index.htm
Andrew Duvall is one of the best film experience writers youll ever find! Hes watching his way through 1001 Greatest
Movies Ever! You can read his film thoughts at http://1001movieman.blogspot.com
Will Frank is an exceptionally funny human being and a nice guy... despite being a lawyer.
Rachael Grace is an amazing filmmaker out of New York. Her film Sumi was a big hit at Cinequest in 2014.
Nathanael C Hood does Forgotten Classics of Yesterday which is always worth reading. His piece first appeared at
http://forgottenclassicsofyesteryear.blogspot.com/2010/07/life-and-death-of-9413-hollywood-extra.html
Fritzi Kramer is a writer whose work can be read at http://moviessilently.com. His piece first appeared at
http://moviessilently.com/2013/11/03/the-great-train-robbery-1903-a-silent-film-review/. He also maintains
vimeo.com/moviessilently
Mac McCann is a writer and student at the University of Texas. http://macmccanntx.com/. His piece first appeared at
http://macmccanntx.com/2013/02/01/unredeemable-racism-a-review-of-d-w-griffiths-birth-of-a-nation/
Chuck Serface is the King of Men and co-host of the Nerdvana Podcast (http://nerdvanapodcast.com)
Jason Wiener - Film Fan, Festival Junky, Scientist, and Drinking Man! You can find his film blog at
http://jasonwatchesmovies.blogspot.com